Knicks links: Desperation, urgency lead to Game 5 win over Pacers

The Knicks didn't play beautiful basketball in
their Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. Simply put, they
fouled the Pacers into submission, and Frank Vogel's team complied by missing
14 of 33 free throws.

One could argue, as
I did, that the win was largely the product of a few lucky breaks: George
Hill (concussion) was a last-minute scratch for Indiana and the Pacers did miss
19 of 35 shots in the paint.

What isn't up for debate is the manner with which
the Knicks played. You can say what you want about their performances in their
Game 3 and 4 losses, but on Thursday night the Knicks came ready to fight.

"We played with
a sense of urgency, knowing what was at stake," Carmelo Anthony said, as
quoted by Newsday's Al Iannazzone.
"We just wanted to go out there and get this game. We played it like we
really wanted it."

There was nothing elegant about this Game 5 win
for Woodson's team. There was no one play or basket that put the Pacers away
for good on a night when they did everything possible to help the Knicks extend
this series. They missed 14 free throws and had 19 turnovers that occasionally
seemed like 190. They committed bad fouls and took bad shots. Did a lot of
things the Knicks had done to put themselves in a 1-3 hole.

And still the Knicks did not put them away until
J.R. Smith got fouled in the last minute and made two free throws and it was
85-75, which is the way it would end. On the night at the Garden when the
season did not end.

[Carmelo] Anthony got
hot from mid-range in the first half and in the low post in the second half.
The numbers weren't superb (12 of 28 shooting) but when the Knicks needed a big
low-post basket down the stretch, he provided it. The Knicks offense still is
not up to snuff. They shot 41 percent.

"We can't find our
shots but we're still going to take those shots," Anthony said. "We're still
confident from that aspect. We didn't shoot the ball very well, but we made
shots at the critical times and controlled the game."

Even Mike Woodson,
who made several questionable decisions in the Knicks' Game 4 loss, was seen to
be tougher on Thursday.

So Woodson showed New
Yorkers the kind of toughness he didn't get a chance to show them as a
first-round pick of the Knicks in 1980, a year before they traded him to the
Nets. Woodson had a good career as an NBA player, and so far he's had a good
career as an NBA coach.

But he's said more
than once he wants to be great, not good. And truth is, all Mike Woodson did in
Game 5 was redeem his earlier second-round sins.

In other Knicks news:

• The
Star-Ledger's Dave D'Alessandro saw
more from the previously slumping J.R. Smith: "Maybe,
you figured, the theme of the night was retro: Small Ball was back. So the
Knicks set a fast pace and jumped to an 11-4 lead, and when JR Smith drilled an
early 3 — and then posed prettily for the Pacers bench, because he can't help
himself — they had an engaged crowd and the requisite second fiddle. In the
end, Smith gave them 13 points and six boards off the bench."

• Smith
appeared to end his skid on Thursday: "His play has been as erratic as his
personal life. Prior to elbowing Celtics guard Jason Terry in the third game of
the Knicks' first-round series, Smith was shooting nearly 50 percent from the
field. After his Game 4 suspension, however, the New Jersey native struggled to
approach even 30-percent accuracy... But Smith's bizarre postseason script took
another twist in Thursday's Game 5 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers—a win
that pushed the series back to Indianapolis for Game 6."

• NJ.com's
Tony Williams saw Copeland's performance as a game-changer for the Knicks: "The
29-year old rookie was used sparingly during the first four games, but had a career
breakout performance tonight in tallying 13 points on an efficient 4-of-6
shooting, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Felton had a gritty 12 points,
as he was often seen favoring an injured ankle in the fourth quarter, and Smith
finally shook the doldrums of a shooting slump to chip in with 13 points, but
it was Copeland's impact -- particularly in the third quarter -- that really
infused some life into the Knicks."

• As
I wrote last night, the Knicks were more lucky than good: "The Pacers
forced the Knicks into 30 personal fouls on Thursday and had they not missed 19
of 35 shots in the paint, they very well could have pulled out the
series-ending victory... Now the series shifts back to Indiana, where the Knicks
have yet to win this year."

• The
Post's Mike Vaccaro wrote that the Knicks had a well-rounded effort on
Thursday: "On this night it was a crowded
backfield: Carmelo Anthony, of course, who poured in a game-high 28, seven of
them in the fourth quarter, every one of them essential to blunt the Pacers'
attempts at coming back and throwing the Garden into a panic. Ray Felton, with
12 points and five rebounds and four assists, and Chris Copeland, justifying
varsity minutes with 13 points and three 3s."

• Greg
Logan of Newsday saw an improved
performance from Chris Copeland: "Woodson
started the second quarter with Copeland, who played several seasons in Europe.
It seemed his greatest asset simply was the ability to stay active at both
ends. Copeland drew a foul and knocked down both free throws, and he showed
he's not a liability on defense with a rebound and steal. Then he buried a
left-wing three for a 32-23 lead that was the Knicks' biggest to that point."

• Newsday's Neil Best wrote about Anthony's impressive night: "Anthony got things
going by scoring the game's first five points as the Knicks took a 7-0 lead. He
finished the first quarter with nine points, even if he did require 10 shots to
get there. He added five points in the second, during which he forced a couple
of shots and turned over the ball twice... But Melo also had a nice reverse layup
off a baseline drive and a big basket (after losing his headband) from 15 feet
out 2.8 seconds before intermission."

• Frank
Isola of the Daily News discussed Woodson's return to his smaller starting
lineup: "Woodson's other tactical move — besides playing Copeland 19
minutes off the bench — was to go back to a smaller lineup featuring guard
Pablo Prigioni. That allowed the Knicks to apply fullcourt pressure and increase
the speed of the game. 'Our pace was much faster,' Anthony said. "We sped the
game up. I thought that was the key.'"

• Isola's
colleague Mitch Lawrence gave Tyson Chandler an "attaboy" for giving George
Hill a concussion: "Nobody wants to see anybody get hurt. But in this case, the
Knicks finally got something positive out of Chandler when he sent Hill to the
sidelines with headaches. It's been anything but a good series for the Knick
center, who had been getting regularly abused by Roy Hibbert and then made the
mistake of criticizing Anthony for not playing team-oriented basketball and
looking to take all the big shots... But he finally came through, making his
biggest impact in these playoffs when he threw an elbow that was not called a
foul in Game 4. Hill's availability for Saturday is still up in the air."

• Howard
Beck of The New York Times discussed
the Pacers' many mistakes: "The Pacers missed 14 of their 33 free throws and
committed 19 turnovers, their offense impaired by the loss of George Hill, the
starting point guard, who was out because of a concussion. Hill apparently
sustained the injury in Game 4, in a collision with Chandler, but the condition
went undetected until Thursday afternoon. His status is in doubt for the
series. The N.B.A.'s concussion protocols might not allow his return for
several days."

• As
ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling pointed out, Copeland contributed in the
fourth quarter: "Copeland also played in the fourth
quarter, hitting a 3-pointer and stealing a pass. With his presence on the
court, alongside Anthony, it forced two Pacers bigs to play further out,
leaving the paint area more open. The Knicks, therefore, were able to
capitalize on penetration and kick-outs."

• The
Post's Mark Hale wrote about Raymond Felton's strong second half: "Felton had just two points, no assists, no rebounds and
no steals in the first half, but after his slow start, he was aggressive in the
third quarter, starting it with a floater and soon knocking down a mid-range
jumper for a 47-42 Knick lead... He added a driving layup, kept alive Copeland's
putback play, fed Kenyon Martin for a layup, drove and found Martin for two
foul shots and closed the quarter by stealing a pass from Gerald Green."

• Chris
Herring of The Wall Street Journal
discussed the significance of Thursday's win: "By taking Game 5, the
Knicks bought themselves comfort for perhaps one night. But they still face an
uphill battle in trying to take the series. Only eight teams in NBA history
have ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a seven-game series. Beyond that,
the Knicks will have to pick up a Game 6 victory in Indiana—where they've lost
each of the four times they've played there this season—to force a deciding
Game 7."